Judge Dismisses Juror in APD Officers’ Trial

A judge dismissed a juror Wednesday, Sept. 21, in the trial of two police officers facing murder charges for killing James Boyd in 2014. Jurors are not supposed to discuss the trial with anyone.

"You may have noticed that one of your fellow jurors is no longer with us," Judge Alisa Hadfield addressed the court. "And that’s because it was determined that there was a violation of my instructions with regard to not talking about anything involving the case on the telephone with anybody. "

Hadfield explained that her goal is to avoid any possibility of the trial being tossed out on a technicality. Lawyer Sam Bregman, who represents former officer Keith Sandy, argued unsuccessfully in favor of keeping the juror.

This comes on the heels of another stern warning from the judge on Tuesday afternoon. She said a juror reported that they could overhear onlookers discussing the jurors during the trial.

Fifteen jurors, including three alternates, were selected, so there are still enough to continue with the trial.

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The detective who oversaw the internal investigation into James Boyd’s killing continued testimony Thursday, Sept. 22, in the trial of two Albuquerque police officers charged with second-degree murder.